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For Iowa CWAer, 15 Minutes of Fame
If you watched the Iowa presidential caucuses on C-Span or caught a glimpse of network coverage you couldn't miss Francis Giunta.
The longtime president of CWA Local 7110 was hustling around a room filled to twice its capacity at the downtown Dubuque YMCA/YWCA, where Precinct 21 was holding its Democratic caucus. As precinct chair, he was making sure the process ran smoothly and that everyone who wanted to speak had a chance to be heard.
When Iowans stunned the pundits and polltakers and gave a big win to then-underdog John Kerry, ABC's World News Tonight decided to honor their independent spirit.
The show wanted one Iowan to represent the 124,000 caucus-goers as the program's "Person of the Week." They called Giunta - who was sure someone was pulling a prank. After all, he'd been getting goofy calls all week from friends who'd seen him on TV.
But once the producer convinced Giunta the request was for real, he donned his CWA ball cap and sat down for an interview.
"I know a lot of good, honest, hard-working folks in Iowa and I'm glad to see that our values are able to affect the national body politic," he said at the top of the segment, describing the caucuses as "an exercise in grassroots democracy. A great way for folks to exercise their political and patriotic duties."
Giunta, a Qwest technician, has been president of his local since 1977 and has been going to Iowa's caucuses for longer than that. He's been president of the Dubuque AFL-CIO and is a member of the Dubuque County Democrats Central Committee.
As precinct chair, he made sure that the presidential preference groups had enough members to be "viable," meaning they could send a delegate to the county convention. In Dubuque Precinct 21, only Kerry, Dean and Edwards had enough support. People who favored other candidates were able to leave their "non-viable" groups and join one of the surviving three.
Kerry ultimately got six of Precinct 21's 11 delegates, Edwards had three and Dean, two. After those decisions were made, the caucus moved on to the presidential platform and any participant who wanted to raise an issue was able to do so.
"Probably close to half the people there, this was the first caucus they'd ever attended," Giunta said. "So you've got old-time caucus-goers and new folks who don't have the slightest idea what to do next. Your job is to make sure they're all treated fairly."
Iowans are in a unique position in presidential politics. "Just about anyone in Iowa who wants to can have a candidate in their living room having coffee," he said. "It's one-on-one. Iowans make their choice based on personal observation, not filtered observation."
Giunta, 52, didn't just represent Iowans in the national newscast. He also represented CWA, proudly wearing a cap and shirt with CWA emblems.
"I promote CWA wherever I go," he said. "There are very few folks who don't realize I'm part of the Communications Workers of America."
The longtime president of CWA Local 7110 was hustling around a room filled to twice its capacity at the downtown Dubuque YMCA/YWCA, where Precinct 21 was holding its Democratic caucus. As precinct chair, he was making sure the process ran smoothly and that everyone who wanted to speak had a chance to be heard.
When Iowans stunned the pundits and polltakers and gave a big win to then-underdog John Kerry, ABC's World News Tonight decided to honor their independent spirit.
The show wanted one Iowan to represent the 124,000 caucus-goers as the program's "Person of the Week." They called Giunta - who was sure someone was pulling a prank. After all, he'd been getting goofy calls all week from friends who'd seen him on TV.
But once the producer convinced Giunta the request was for real, he donned his CWA ball cap and sat down for an interview.
"I know a lot of good, honest, hard-working folks in Iowa and I'm glad to see that our values are able to affect the national body politic," he said at the top of the segment, describing the caucuses as "an exercise in grassroots democracy. A great way for folks to exercise their political and patriotic duties."
Giunta, a Qwest technician, has been president of his local since 1977 and has been going to Iowa's caucuses for longer than that. He's been president of the Dubuque AFL-CIO and is a member of the Dubuque County Democrats Central Committee.
As precinct chair, he made sure that the presidential preference groups had enough members to be "viable," meaning they could send a delegate to the county convention. In Dubuque Precinct 21, only Kerry, Dean and Edwards had enough support. People who favored other candidates were able to leave their "non-viable" groups and join one of the surviving three.
Kerry ultimately got six of Precinct 21's 11 delegates, Edwards had three and Dean, two. After those decisions were made, the caucus moved on to the presidential platform and any participant who wanted to raise an issue was able to do so.
"Probably close to half the people there, this was the first caucus they'd ever attended," Giunta said. "So you've got old-time caucus-goers and new folks who don't have the slightest idea what to do next. Your job is to make sure they're all treated fairly."
Iowans are in a unique position in presidential politics. "Just about anyone in Iowa who wants to can have a candidate in their living room having coffee," he said. "It's one-on-one. Iowans make their choice based on personal observation, not filtered observation."
Giunta, 52, didn't just represent Iowans in the national newscast. He also represented CWA, proudly wearing a cap and shirt with CWA emblems.
"I promote CWA wherever I go," he said. "There are very few folks who don't realize I'm part of the Communications Workers of America."